Wood bleaching

A number of experimental chemical wood bleaching technologies have recently been disclosed hydrogen peroxide and tetraacetyl ethylene diamine,240 anthracene derivatives with hydrogen peroxide241 and in situ produced performic acid242 are but a few. 

H2O2 - Available almost anywhere as a 3% antiseptic solution in water called Hydrogen Peroxide or Peroxide . 35% Hydrogen Peroxide solutions can be found in most hardware stores in wood bleaching kits. This will produce much greater yields and is safer than boiling the 3% solution. 

Table 7.1. Surface energy conniponents measured for single fibres (sf), hand sheets (hs) and films (f) of hard-, soft- and mixed-wood bleached kraft (HWBK, SWBK and HSWBK, respectively) pulp and cellulose films...

Hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solution has many uses, because the products from its reaction are either water or oxygen, which are generally innocuous. The chief use is bleaching of textiles, both natural and synthetic, and of wood pulp for paper. Other uses are the oxidation of dyestuffs, in photography and in the production of... 

Liquid chlorine dioxide, ClOj, boils at 284 K to give an orange-yellow gas. A very reactive compound, it decomposes readily and violently into its constituents. It is a powerful oxidising agent which has recently found favour as a commercial oxidising agent and as a bleach for wood pulp and flour. In addition, it is used in water sterilisation where, unlike chlorine, it does not produce an unpleasant taste. It is produced when potassium chlorate(V) is treated with concentrated sulphuric acid, the reaction being essentially a disproportionation of chloric(V) acid ... 

Uses. The principal uses of NaBH are ia synthesis of pharmaceuticals (qv) and fine organic chemicals removal of trace impurities from bulk organic chemicals wood-pulp bleaching, clay leaching, and vat-dye reductions and removal and recovery of trace metals from plant effluents. 

Bleaching. The largest single use for hydrogen peroxide in the United States and North America is wood pulp bleaching, but consumption for the manufacture of chemicals, environmental appHcations, and for bleaching cotton (qv), wool (qv), and other textiles (qv) is significant. 

Hydrogen peroxide is also used to bleach soHd surfaces such as wood (qv) or linoleum, and to improve the color of oils and waxes. 

Caro s acid is effective ia delignifying wood pulp (qv) made by chlorine-free bleaching sequences. When conditions are carefully controlled, the mechanical properties of the final paper (qv) are not impaired. These processes were developed ia the 1980s and commercialized ia the 1990s (68). 

Sulfite pulps have properties that are desirable for tissues and top quaHty, fine papers. Because sulfite pulping is not as versatile as kraft pulping, various options have been developed, and the choice of a specific process is dependent on individual mill situations. The unbleached pulp has high (60+) brightness compared to kraft pulp and is easily bleached. However, it is limited to select wood species. The heartwood of pine, Douglas fir, and cedars are not easily pulped. Additionally, pulps produced from hardwood have limited economic value because of low strength. 

The perhydroxyl ion, OOH , derived from the dissociation of hydrogen peroxide in alkaline solution, is generally considered the active agent in the bleaching of wood pulp using hydrogen peroxide. This ionization may be expressed by the following reversible reaction ... 

Closed-Mill Concept. The closed-mill concept, or water circuit closure, has been studied by the pulp and paper industry for many years. In some parts of the paper manufacturing process, up to 98% of the water is recycled within the process, eg, the wet end of the paper machine. However, in the pulp mill, especiaUy kraft mills, effluents are produced owing to the need to purge from the system various metals that come in with the wood, as weU as organic by-products from the pulping process, additives, and especially chloride ions that originate in the bleach plant. 

Equalizers can be either pigmented or dye-type stains used to tone down or lighten dark areas of wood prior to finishing. Although it is not as effective, equalizing is sometimes done in place of bleaching. Because there are no white dyes, white pigment or pead essence is usually incorporated with the dyes to achieve the desired look. 

Miscellaneous. In ore flotation, sodium sulfite functions as a selective depressant. In textile processing, sodium sulfite is used as a bleach for wood (qv) and polyamide fibers and as an antichlor after the use of chlorine bleach. Synthetic appHcations of sodium sulfite include production of sodium thiosulfite by addition of sulfur and the introduction of sulfonate groups into dyestuffs and other organic products. Sodium sulfite is useful as a scavenger for formaldehyde in aminoplast—wood compositions, and as a buffer in chrome tanning of leather. 

In wooden tubs, the maintenance of a sanitizer residual becomes compHcated due to the leaching of tannins and other organic matter from the wood into the water. The sanitizer demand of these substances must be overcome in order to maintain proper residual concentrations. As the tub ages, the leaching of these materials decreases, but bleaching of the wood may occur as the lignin (qv) in the wood reacts with sanitizers. 

The biggest use of chlorine dioxide is in bleaching wood pulp. In some mills, much of the chlorine and hypochlorite has been replaced by chlorine dioxide to reduce the amount of chlorinated by-products. Chlorine dioxide is also used to bleach textiles, flour, and edible fats and oils. 

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